We're down to the wire

Monday is the last day before the legislative recess, and the state Senate still hasn't indicated it will call a vote on the medical marijuana bill, A.4867B. Patients have suffered far too long, and it is past time for the state Senate to act.

Please call and write Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's office to urge him to bring the compassionate bill to a vote.

After that, please call your senator — even if you have already done so — ask him or her to commit to asking Sen. Bruno to bring the bill for a vote. Then, let me know if your senator committed to do so.

When the final vote came in from Wednesday, the Assembly passed Assemblyman Richard Gottfried's medical marijuana bill 89-52. The bill would apply only to patients with debilitating or life-threatening conditions whose doctors think marijuana would be the best treatment option. It is modeled after laws that are working well without creating problems; laws like Rhode Island's and Vermont's. But it is even more tightly crafted.

The bill would initially allow patients to grow a limited supply of their own medicine, but that method of access would be replaced by state-regulated distribution once the federal government grants permission. This change was made to the bill in response to the Senate's concerns last year.

There is no excuse for the state to continue to label the seriously ill as criminals for relieving suffering. Please let Sen. Bruno and your own senator know that patients have suffered far too long, and that the medical marijuana bill should be brought to a vote on Monday. Sen. Bruno has said he supports allowing patients to use medical marijuana before; now it's time to turn those words into action.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this alert on to friends, family members, list servs, and discussion boards, so together we can make sure that New York's patients do not have to fear arrest for relieving their suffering. To watch testimonials of two patients counting on the bill to pass, click here.